Once the puck drops for the NHL playoffs,
the league’s officiating teams are highly scrutinized. It’s quite common for
players, coaches and fans to complain about inconsistent refereeing during the
postseason as an infraction that’s called for a penalty one night is completely
ignored the next game. The simplest way to solve the problem of inconsistency
during the drive to the Stanley Cup is to use the same set of on-ice officials
for an entire playoff series. This means the teams will get the same referees
and linesmen for each and every contest of a seven-game series.
The way the league currently operates, a
different group of officials works each game and the clubs may be lucky to see
the same faces twice during a seven-game showdown. Since officials are human
it’s just natural that each of them has his own unique style even though the
NHL preaches for consistency. Some referees are more lenient than others and
this can lead to frustration and confusion from game to game. If the same set
of officials worked each game of a series the players, coaches and spectators would
know exactly what to expect and what constitutes a penalty.
If the same officials were assigned an
entire series they would know what has taken place in each previous game. They
would know who has caused trouble, who has been diving in an attempt to have a
penalty called, who has been delivering cheap-shots and who has been involved
in instigating post-whistle scrums etc. It would be so much easier for the
players and coaches since they know where the line will be drawn. The fans
would also benefit with less pushing and shoving after each and every whistle.
Since different officials are now employed from
game to game we see marginal infractions interpreted differently by them from
night to night. Game seven is never called in the same manner as game one and
this often leads to a team taking a late-game or overtime penalty which can in
turn lead to elimination from the playoffs. If a specific team of officials is
more lenient, players will naturally try to take advantage of the situation. And
even though they may not be called for a penalty during the game, fans have
already seen several players suspended during this year’s postseason for dangerous
and dirty plays after the fact due to the league reviewing video replays.
Some playoff games suffer from
“under-officiating” one night and “over-officiating” the next. The NHL could do
everybody a favour by assigning the same officials to an entire series. They would
get a feel for the games and the series and it would lead to more consistency
and less frustration. Major League baseball typically uses the same team of
umpires for a series so players and managers can basically adapt to the way
they interpret the strike zone and the rules in general. NHL players and
coaches can be seen to be visibly upset during the playoffs when one pair of referees
calls a game completely different than another pair during the same series. The
solution is right before their eyes, but so far the NHL hasn’t explored the
benefits of it.
Labels: Ian Palmer